Scriptural Reading: Isaiah 38:1-8
“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.’”—Isaiah 38:5
King Hezekiah had just gotten the message no one wants to hear, “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.” The source of the diagnosis gave some degree of finality to the matter; it was a decree from God, delivered by the man of God, Isaiah.
Hezekiah responded with prayer and heavy weeping. The prayer wasn’t long or excessively eloquent. It laid out no negotiations, no demands, no conditions. It was a simple, heartfelt call for God to be compassionate and remember Hezekiah’s faithfulness in his time of sorrow. And God responded. Before Isaiah could get off the palace premises, God sent him back to Hezekiah and assured the king his prayer had been heard and his tears seen. Hezekiah would be granted fifteen additional years of life. Then God turned back the shadow of the sun as a sign of this deliverance.
Today, some question the power of prayer and our ability to influence the Divine by our words. They’ve resigned themselves to accept this world and their circumstances are beyond hope. They reason nothing can change the course of our lives, our families, our communities and the greater world in which we live.
Yet, here is the Almighty, retracting His divine decision and reordering the course of His divine plan, based on a few heartfelt words and mournful tears of one man—a man who had lived faithfully before God. When it comes down to answered prayer, it indeed matters how we live. God respects and responds to the prayers of those who live according to His Word.
The Almighty still hears, listens and intervenes in the affairs of men and women when we call out in prayer. There is nothing prayer can’t change. Let nothing dissuade us otherwise.
God still answers prayer!
Question to Ponder: Do you believe prayer can fix any situation you face? If so, have you really tried it?
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”—James 5:16
